Bible In One Year-Day 131 (Sunday, May 11, 2014)

Commentary: 2Kings6-8. When we read 2Kings3-5, we saw some difficult situations in which God spoke through the mouth of His servant, Elisha, in which the testimony depended on the recipient’s response. In chapters6-8, the situations were more intense and in them, God did not wait for the response of the people. In difficult situations, we need to seek the mind of God concerning it. When God gives His word concerning His intention for such situation, He could not be ridiculed. The King’s servant ridiculed God’s word that came out of Elisha’s mouth and he received the verdict of “seeing without partaking”; 2 Kings 7:2 “Then a lord on whose hand the king leaned answered the man of God, and said, Behold, if the LORD would make windows in heaven, might this thing be? And he said, Behold, thou shalt see it with thine eyes, but shalt not eat thereof.” This is divine curse that came to be because of blasphemy. If the man had kept quiet and not verbalize his doubt, he would have saved his own life. The father of John the Baptist also made the same mistake in which he verbalized his doubt before the Angel of God and he received dumbness.

Luke 1:18-20 And Zacharias said to the angel, Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years.And the angel answering said to him, I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak to thee, and to show thee these glad tidings.And, behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day that these things shall be performed, because thou believest not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season.

To doubt in the heart is a sin on its own; verbalizing it against the word of God is more grievous in the sight of God. If the word concerns you and you alone, doubting it can makes you to lose the testimony because you might refuse to take necessary actions to realize that. For instance, Naaman would have lost the testimony of his cleansing if he had totally refused to bath in river Jordan as instructed by the man of God. If God had summed up a plan in His economy and somebody speaks impossibility, one might be bargaining for something else. The birth of John the Baptist was not for his parent but to prepare the way for the coming King of kings; that was God’s plan towards the salvation of man. The doubt of his father in the temple made him receive what he did not bargain for; his head and mouth couldn’t agree to process data again.

In the case of Elisha, the situation was so bad that mothers started eating their children; it was a case that needed divine intervention. The king’s servant who was supposed to support the king was the one with a different heart. If you needed a friend to join you in prayers, make sure you prayerfully seek for the ones with like-mind with you; don’t pick based on sight suggestion. When God speaks, we must be careful how we respond even if there is doubt within us. You could ask God to help you just as the man cried out to Jesus in Mark 9:24 “And immediately the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.” The word of God which was spoken by the mouth of Elisha came to pass without any hindrance. The amazing thing was that the connection to the fulfillment was through the rejected, the Lepers. God can use anything and any means to make His word come to pass. In many cases, men engage logics in figuring out how God solves problems; this is a failing factor, because it is the root of unbelief and doubt. The question put forward to Abraham in the scripture was “Is any thing too hard for the LORD? …” Gen18:14. It was very unfortunate that the famine in the case of Elisha rounded off with the death of the king’s servant (he didn’t start the famine, nor was he responsible for it) 2 Kings 7:20 “And so it fell out unto him: for the people trode upon him in the gate, and he died.” Remember that the woman with the jar of oil shut her door against doubters, speakers of impossibilities; you must learn to shut your ears against agents of impossibilities around. I pray that you will not miss your portion in God’s economy in the name of Jesus. Our next reading is 2Kings9-11. Keep the fire burning and alive.

Matthew 13:58 And he did not many mighty works there, because of their unbelief.

Jeremiah 32:27 Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me?

2 Kings 4:4-5 “And when thou art come in, thou shalt shut the door upon thee and upon thy sons, and shalt pour out into all those vessels, and thou shalt set aside that which is full. So she went from him, and shut the door upon her and upon her sons, who brought the vesselsto her; and she poured out.”

Bible In One Year-Day 130 (Saturday, May 10, 2014)

2Kings3-5 are awesome chapters to read. How good it is to have a man of such anointing that sees beyond the physical or the situation. How best it is, on the other hand, to have great faith within us to utilize such anointing to the utmost. Faith is in different levels and it was Jesus who first made us to know this truth; little faith exhibited by His disciples whilst walking Him on earth and great faith as exhibited by the Centurion. There is another faith that is as little as mustard seed. The faith exhibited by His disciples was not as effective as that likened to the mustard seed otherwise they would have moved mountains before His ascension. The faith of the woman with the issue of blood was a ‘now’ faith that needed no attention of any other person; this is the type of faith we need to exhibit when we are in the congregation praying or listening to prophetic messages. However, all these levels of faith should be in those who need help. The one that God desires most is that called great faith and this is the faith that rests on the spoken word. Everything we get is according to the level of the faith inside of us;

Ephesians 3:20 “Now to him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,”

The power that is being referred to here is the level or the power of faith. Without faith we cannot obtain good testimony;

Hebrews 11:1-2 “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.For by it the elders obtained a good report.”

Faith grabs from God whether He is ready or not, just like the case of the woman with the issue of blood. With faith you bargain beyond your imagination. In the chapters we read, there are six instances in which the WORD and FAITH played together in different ways. The level of individual’s faith justified the type of testimony obtained. The kings, for Jehoshaphat’s sake, got the word and believed it, they got water for strength and victory; 2 Kings 3:20 “And it came to pass in the morning, when the meat offering was offered, that, behold, there came water by the way of Edom, and the country was filled with water.” The same water spelt woe against the Moabites, 2Kings3:22-24. Your testimony shall lead your enemies into self suicide in the name of Jesus. The widow in chapter4 heard the emphatic instruction of the man of God, 2 Kings 4:3 “… borrow not a few.” She borrowed to the level of her faith. Unfortunately, the oil ceased at the level of her faith which is the confirmation of Eph3:20, i.e. “according to the power that worketh in us” Oil is a symbol of anointing; it continues to flow and work for as long as there is faith to enhance it. When you leave a place of prayer and you doubt within yourself what was prayed about with prophecies received, the anointing that follows one out of that place ceases at that point of doubt. Doubt is horrible; it punctures the vessels of anointing that works miracles. Doubt frustrates. We could learn from this woman, nonetheless; she shut the door against discouragers and concentrated on the little faith she had. We must beware of discouragement whenever we are exercising our little faith. There are times we need to be quiet on some issues we had already talked or prayed to God about. Discouragers are agents of despair. As the woman shut her door, so we need to learn how to shut the door of our mouth. This was the problem of Joseph when he had the dream of his destiny. Naaman, on the other hand, would have lost his miracle if not for the encourager in his household. Though she was a captive and a little maid, she played a role in Naaman’s life; this is the type of person you need to pray to surround you. To build your faith, you need to listen to anointed messages of faith and read your Bible regularly;

Romans 10:17 “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”

May the Lord make His countenance to shine upon you in the name of Jesus. Our next reading is 2Kings6-8. Keep the fire burning and alive.

Bible In One Year-Day 129 (Friday, May 09, 2014)

Commentary: 1Kings22-2Kings2. Ahab’s dynasty received the sentence of death when he exploited his subject, Naboth, under the influence of his wife, Jezebel. He still lived three years after this judgment. Probably he had forgotten about it entirely, or he thought the sentence was expired; something prompted him to decide to go to war against the Syrians. That decision was marked for destruction in heaven and a spirit came to effect the decision in the mouth of his reliance, the fake prophets. Jehoshaphat was the King of Judah. Because of his affiliation with King Ahab, he almost lost his life. As children of God, we must watch out for any evil association, i.e. that which does not go well with God’s mind. Ahab, in the presence of Jehoshaphat, rejected God’s counsel for that of 400 fake prophets who were eating from Jezebel’s table. He even saw Ahab jail the prophet that spoke the truth. This should have been a pointer to break his association with Ahab. Ahab made Jehoshaphat to put on his royal robe (deception; acquired from Jezebel) to disguise as the king of Israel, this would have finished Jehoshaphat totally but for God, he survived it. When Christians go into association with an unbeliever, he or she might be bargaining for untimely death. Every relationship must be subjected to God’s word and mind otherwise, it is not worth it. Gradually the dynasty of Ahab was being wiped out as we read in 2Kings1. His son walked in the same way he did. Ahaziah consulted witchcraft to ask if he would survive his sickness but God sent Elijah to tell him that his end has come. There are different levels of anointing. The one in Elijah’s life was another level, the one that could not be ridiculed or insulted. The first captain went to him arrogantly and sarcastically called him “man of God” Elijah replied by calling down fire. The second captain never learnt from that, unlike the third captain who begged Elijah to have respect for his life. The mouth of the first two captains killed them;

Proverbs 6:2 “Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth, thou art taken with the words of thy mouth.”

Beloved, it is only with humility of heart that you draw virtues from anointing, but with pride and arrogance, one is left frustrated and rejected. The woman with the issue of blood humbled herself and she drew virtue from Jesus. Humility is an element of faith which is needed to make the required change in life; 2 Chronicles 7:14 “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”

There is a garment which God honors most in peoples’ lives and that is the garment of humility. No one falls before God in humbleness of heart that does not receive answer from Him.

2 Chronicles 34:27 “Because thine heart was tender, and thou didst humble thyself before God, when thou heardest his words against this place, and against the inhabitants thereof, and humbledst thyself before me, and didst rend thy clothes, and weep before me; I have even heard thee also, saith the LORD.”

The difference between Saul and David was lack of humility on the part of Saul. Saul sinned and David sinned, but one knew how to humble himself before God and he obtained mercy. We need to wear the garment of humility in our dealings. Lack of humility could make us lose the virtue that creates miracles. May the good God have mercy upon us in the name of Jesus. Our reading for today is 2Kings3-5. Keep the fire burning and alive

Bible In One Year-Day 128 (Thursday, May 08, 2014)

Commentary: 1Kings19-21. It was easier for Elijah to confront, disgrace and execute 450 Baal prophets, but to stand the vow of Jezebel, he had to run for his dear life. He probably ran because he did not hear any word from God concerning Jezebel who captured her preys by the power called ‘Jezebel’s Table’. People might consider this to be a sign of weakness, but in the spirit of education in the things of the spirit, it isn’t. Elijah did things the way God directed him. As at this very time, there was not any direction or word from God concerning Jezebel. The message he received was to King Ahab. This is a lesson to us all; don’t jump into what God has not commanded. You could only find God where His word is. Many go into the ministry God had not called them. We must seek God, like Moses, in cogent matters. God is never late as we think. When things seemed threatening, let us go into retreat to seek God’s mind. We should regard Elijah’s escape for Jezebel as a retreat, because the angel of the Lord eventually came to him and strengthened him with angelic food twice. His was different from the 450 prophets who ate from Jezebel’s table and became weak. It was at this retreat that he received from God concerning Jezebel, the powerful evil influence on Israel;

1 Kings 21:23 “And of Jezebel also spake the LORD, saying, The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel.”

When you find yourself in an unplanned battle with Jezebel, run to God for the right weapon; don’t stand on your past experience or logic, RUN. She captured a whole church in Rev2:20 and a whole nation through the perversion of her husband’s elevation; she could subtly capture a whole ministry. The power of Jezebel was so great that even the Ministry or Department of Justice was under her influence. Ahab, even in his perverted ways, still enjoyed God’s protection, but this protection was broken when his wife, Jezebel, schemed to kill Naboth through the ministry of injustice and took his inheritance. Ahab’s atrocities were because he was under the influence of Jezebel;

1 Kings 21:25 “But there was none like unto Ahab, which did sell himself to work wickedness in the sight of the LORD, whom Jezebel his wife stirred up.”

The problem of Ahab started when he went to marry Jezebel (1Kings16:31); Ecclesiastes 7:26 “And I find more bitter than death the woman, whose heart is snares and nets, and her hands as bands: whoso pleaseth God shall escape from her; but the sinner shall be taken by her.” Ahab displeased God and he fell into the trap of Jezebel.

Ahab, in his natural sense, was a good man. And this is evident in the display of humility when he heard God’s judgment over his life and family. This gesture pleased God to the extent that God shifted the judgment to another generation; 1 Kings 21:29 “Seest thou how Ahab humbleth himself before me? because he humbleth himself before me, I will not bring the evil in his days: but in his son’s days will I bring the evil upon his house.”

Though Ahab was humble, this was not pleasing to Jezebel; she clamored for authority to propagate her evil motive and intention. She wanted to take charge. It is a lesson to us the Christians. Jezebel is a symbol of evil enticement, influence and seduction. When you see yourself compromising God’s word, you might be under the influence of this spirit. This spirit operates where those with God’s covenant are, and the mission is to influence the worship of material things, position and power. Many churches can now be regarded as Hollywood where fashion parades are the order of the day. Check the pastor and the wife, you will be surprised to see that you are seeing a celebrity from Hollywood. On the fingers are 6 different types of rings and on the neck is the most expensive layers of jewelries; 1 Timothy 2:9 “In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array;”

The appearance of Jezebel’s spirit isn’t only in this manner. Some don’t even use jewelries but their influence in some other forms, manners or ways is quite subtle; Revelation 2:20 “Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed to idols.”

Jezebel found her husband in a sad mood; on realizing that it was because somebody refused him what he wanted, she moved to kill the person. That is exactly what a Jezebel does; to make sure she gets anything the husband wanted even at the detriment of another’s woe. Jezebel spirit promotes slandering and perverts protocols. She goes out of her ways to manipulate things in order to get recognized. She is very good in bribery and corruption and her targets are people that matters in her pursuit; no wonder she got the prophets with her foods and gifts. She lies and changes stories, falsifies documents;

1 Kings 21:8 “So she wrote letters in Ahab’s name, and sealed them with his seal, and sent the letters unto the elders and to the nobles that were in his city, dwelling with Naboth.”

Jezebel used the name and seal of an authority to propagate her evil intentions and pervert justice. Jezebel cleaves to authority and not to average men. Perhaps you are already a victim of Jezebel; check who your friends are. Are any of them influencing you against people? She will first act as a good friend to you but with another agenda. She comes in sympathetically but to work on your emotion;

Proverbs 17:9 “He that covereth a transgression seeketh love; but he that repeateth a matter separateth very friends.”

Ahab claimed what Jezebel had gotten for him. To him, he was progressing because his wife was getting for him all he wanted, not knowing that judgment of woe had been divinely passed over his lineage. Jezebel was death in the palace without Ahab’s knowledge. Prophets who never agreed to eat from her table were killed. Without any doubt, she was self-centered. The battle against Jezebel isn’t a battle against any gender but against evil influences. Christians should be aware of negative influences; they break the wall of divine protection, destroy unity amongst brethren and bring calamity into a person’s future. May the Lord deliver us from the claws of the Jezebels of our days. Our next reading is 1Kings22-2Kings2. Keep the fire burning and alive.

Bible In One Year-Day 127 (Wednesday, May 07, 2014)

Commentary: 1Kings16-18. It is quite unfortunate to see that all the kings we read about in chapter16 disappointed God through idolatry, just because they wanted power. Most of them were raised by God just as He raised Jeroboam from the dust. Unfortunately, they patterned their lives after Jeroboam. For instance, God said to Baasha, the King of Israel, 1 Kings 16:2 “Forasmuch as I exalted thee out of the dust, and made thee prince over my people Israel; and thou hast walked in the way of Jeroboam, and hast made my people Israel to sin, to provoke me to anger with their sins;”

To pattern after Jeroboam is to be an ingrate for what God has done. King Ahab was not left out in this and that was how Elijah came into the scene to pass God’s judgment. The heaven was locked up and he put the spiritual key in his pocket;

1 Kings 17:1 “And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the LORD God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word.”

Elijah, the man with spiritual airline, feared no man but God. He was known to be a man who could not be caged because the wind was his wings. Jesus indirectly described the manner in which Elijah moved, John 3:8 “The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.”

Any position God has given us to occupy by grace should be maintained by His Spirit. King David confirmed that the Spirit of the Lord spoke by his mouth (2Sam23:2), which means he was under the influence of the Holy Spirit. You could imagine his statement when he sinned against the Lord;

Psalms 51:11-13 “Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.”

David enjoyed the company of the Holy Spirit so much that he begged God not to take Him otherwise he was doomed. David was interested in repairing the broken relationship with the Holy Spirit. Therefore, as a king, administrator, you need the Holy Spirit and as a priest you need Him. As a child of the living God, you must not ignore Him if you really want to live as a champion. To be a spiritual giant you need to ride on the airline of the Holy Spirit, i.e. He must be your Pilot. By the Holy Spirit, you worship God better, know Jesus deeper and defeat the wiles of the enemy. The peace of heaven fills you with immeasurable hope only by the Spirit of God. You don’t need to introduce yourself when the fullness of the Holy Spirit is upon you, He does that, just as He did for Elijah;

1 Kings 17:24 “And the woman said to Elijah, Now by this I know that thou art a man of God, and that the word of the LORD in thy mouth is truth.”

He confirmed His words in the mouth of the Apostles. The manner in which He confirmed His words in the mouth of the Apostles was not in just preaching but in power, i.e. things changed instantly;

Acts 10:44-45 “While Peter yet spoke these words, the Holy Spirit fell on all them which heard the word.And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

If there is anything we need in the church today, it is the comfort of the Holy Spirit and not display of the flesh or eloquent motivational speeches by the flesh (i.e. brain power). Acts 9:31 “Then had the churches rest throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria, and were edified; and walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, were multiplied.”

His comfort increases the church. May the Spirit of the living God comfort us on every side in the name of Jesus. Reading for today is 1Kings19-21. Keep the fire burning and alive

Romans 15:13 “Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Spirit.”